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Frequently Asked Questions: Waste Energy Recovery Registry (WERR)
Waste Energy
Recovery Registry
- What qualifies as Waste Energy Recovery under the Registry?
- How does a site get placed in the WERR?
- What is the Waste Energy Survey Tool (WEST)?
- What is the relationship between site, source, and project?
- Is the WERR voluntary?
- How were the initial thresholds developed?
- What data is EPA proposing to release on the WERR? Is EPA proposing to treat most of the data as Detailed Quantitative Information (DQI)?
- How does EPA propose to calculate the emissions savings potential of waste energy recovery projects on the WERR?
- How does EPA propose to determine the 5-year payback?
- What financial incentives are included in Section 373?
- How does EPA propose to determine the 60% minimum efficiency for new sources or new energy-consuming industrial facilities constructed after EISA enactment?
- What is the schedule for returning the Survey?
- What is the cost of completing the Survey?
- How does EPA propose to ensure that proposed projects for inclusion on the WERR are not developed or used for the primary purpose of making sales of excess electric power under regulatory provisions of subtitle D part E?
- How are sites removed from the WERR?
- What is an EPCA Section 374 petition?
What qualifies as Waste Energy Recovery under the Registry?
Waste Energy options defined in the WERR are: 1) Exhaust heat or flare gas from industrial processes; these could be high temperature exhaust streams from industrial processes such as glass melters or cement kilns, or from equipment such as pipeline compressor drives; 2) Waste gas such as refinery off gases that contains combustible content that could be burned for electricity production rather than flared, incinerated, or vented; 3) A pressure drop in any gas that could be used in a backpressure steam turbine or turboexpander to create electricity; and 4) Any other form of waste energy that the EPA Administrator may determine; the proposed rule identifies combined heat and power.
How does a site get placed in the WERR?
Sites can be placed in the WERR by completing the electronic Waste Energy Survey Tool (WEST). The agency expects WEST to be released within 90 days of the final rule being published in the Federal Register. The Tool screens the site or source input data using embedded algorithms to determine simple payback and ensure the source or site meets the criteria described in the proposed rule. Completing WEST is voluntary, however EPA expects to contact about 11,000 facilities based on the initial major industrial and large commercial thresholds. Any site can download and complete WEST; all sites will be included in the Registry based on WEST results.
What is the Waste Energy Survey Tool (WEST)?
WEST is an electronic tool that serves as the survey to determine the potential waste energy recovery opportunities as defined in the proposed rule. The survey respondent downloads WEST on their computer and enters the required information. All calculations will be based on detailed facility data; such data will remain on the respondents’ computer. Only summary information (by waste energy type and aggregate) will be sent to EPA. WEST allows EPA to develop and populate the WERR without handling confidential business information. The agency expects WEST to be released within 90 days of the final rule being published in the Federal Register.
What is the relationship between site, source, and project?
A site is considered to be any building or group of buildings that engage in a particular industrial or commercial activity. A source is considered to be any process or activity that results in the release of waste energy. A project is any waste heat recovery action that is taken on a particular source at a site. Therefore, a site may have multiple sources, which could each have a potential waste energy recovery project.
Is the WERR voluntary?
Yes; EPA is proposing that participation in the WERR be voluntary based on its understanding of its statutory authority and on feedback from stakeholder groups. Specifically, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), the statutory authority for the WERR, does not give EPA authority to enforce data collection. EPA held extensive stakeholder meetings in developing the proposed rule in order to receive input on regulatory burdens, confidential business information concerns, data availability, and other implementation issues. The clear feedback from the many stakeholder groups was to make participation in the WERR voluntary.
How were the initial thresholds developed?
In developing the thresholds for what constitutes major industrial and commercial sources, EPA reviewed existing thresholds from other EPA regulations, relevant databases of waste energy projects, and existing analysis of waste energy projects by the EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership. The proposed initial threshold for major industrial sources is 100 MMBtu/hr, which is based on the New Source Performance Standards regulation. The proposed initial threshold for major commercial sources is 1 MW average electric annual demand or 5 MMBtu/hr, which is reflective of the size of facilities associated with existing CHP in commercial applications.
What data is EPA proposing to release on the WERR? Is EPA proposing to treat most of the data as Detailed Quantitative Information (DQI)?
EPA intends to only release information on each site or source that is needed to make facility operators or owners and private parties aware that a potential waste energy recovery project has been identified, and to facilitate conversations about how to pursue the capture of the waste energy. This basic information in the Registry will not include detailed quantitative information (DQI), which is considered to be any Survey responses or WEST output that goes beyond site name, location, NAICS code, contact information, waste energy recovery potential, and date listed in the Registry.
How does EPA propose to calculate the emissions savings potential of waste energy recovery projects on the WERR?
Avoided grid emissions will be calculated based on EPA’s Emission & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID). eGRID, developed by EPA’s Climate Protection Partnership Division’s State and Local Branch, contains data on the environmental attributes of virtually all of the electric power generated in the United States, linking air emissions to electricity generated. The most recent version, the sixth edition of eGRID, eGRID2007, includes operational data from 2005.
How does EPA propose to determine the 5-year payback?
WEST will determine the 5-year payback based on algorithms for estimating simple paybacks of waste energy projects using information on waste energy available and current energy prices provided by each site in the Survey, and rules of thumb for waste energy recovery technology performance and cost. The simple payback for a project is calculated by dividing the total installed cost of the project by the estimated annual savings of the project. The annual savings are calculated using information about the purchase price for electricity at the site, the projected amount of electricity generated by the project, and the operation and maintenance costs of the project. The payback calculation will also include the financial incentives included in EPCA Section 373.
What financial incentives are included in Section 373?
Section 373 directs the Department of Energy to establish a waste energy recovery incentive grant program that would provide funding to 1) owners or operators of projects that successfully produce electricity or useful thermal energy from waste energy recovery, 2) utilities for purchasing and distributing the electricity, and 3) states that have achieved 80 percent or more of recoverable waste energy recovery opportunities. The DOE grant incentives include $10/MWh of electricity produced from waste energy recovery, or $10/3,412,000 Btus of excess thermal energy used for a useful purpose other than which it was designed (for the first three years of operation). Funds have not been specifically appropriated for the Department of Energy to develop and fund the grant program.
How does EPA propose to determine the 60% minimum efficiency for new sources or new energy-consuming industrial facilities constructed after EISA enactment?
EPA is proposing to base the 60% minimum efficiency threshold on the combined efficiency of the waste heat source and the potential waste energy recovery project. This means that the combined source and project must capture at least 60% of the total energy value of the fuel being used at the source. This efficiency threshold ensures that projects will be developed that maximize the efficiency of the overall fuel use at the source, rather than having new projects be developed based on inefficient source equipment with the primary purpose of generating waste heat.
What is the schedule for returning the Survey?
EPA is proposing that the Survey be completed voluntarily by owners or operators of affected sources anytime following release of WEST. The Agency expects WEST to be released within 90 days of the final rule being published in the Federal Register. Following the release of WEST, affected sites and sources can submit the Survey reporting information to the Agency at any time.
What is the cost of completing the Survey?
EPA prepared an economic analysis to estimate the cost of completing the Survey. The analysis determined that the average private cost per respondent would be under $400 and therefore does not impose a significant burden on large or small businesses. Additionally, the Survey is targeted at the largest 1% of non-manufacturing facilities and the largest 2% of manufacturing facilities, making it unlikely that many small entities will affected.
How does EPA propose to ensure that proposed projects for inclusion on the WERR are not developed or used for the primary purpose of making sales of excess electric power under regulatory provisions of subtitle D part E?
EPA is proposing that sites wishing to be included in the Registry meet one of three possible primary purpose criteria, 1) At least 50% of the total annual energy output of the site (including all the waste energy projects at the site) is used for industrial or commercial purposes and not sold to an electric utility; 2) The site is located in a State where the appropriate regulatory authority has decided not to implement the regulatory sale of excess power provisions in EPCA Section 374; or 3) The owner or operator of the site submits a joint petition with the local electric utility requesting that the 50% threshold be waived. These primary purpose criteria are designed to identify projects that are intended primarily for on-site electric and thermal use, while also giving flexibility to utilities to encourage the pursuit of waste energy recovery projects in their service territory.
How are sites removed from the WERR?
Sites or sources are removed from the WERR after a project achieves successful recovery of waste energy. EPA is proposing that for sites or sources listed in the Registry, if a waste energy project becomes commercially operational, the site must notify EPA within 90 days for removal from the Registry. If a site or source on the Registry chooses to no longer be listed in the Registry, the site can notify EPA with a request for removal. In both of the above scenarios, EPA will remove the source from the Registry within 30 days of notification. No sites will be removed from the Registry if it has submitted an EPCA Section 374 petition and the petition has not been acted on or denied.
What is an EPCA Section 374 petition?
A Section 374 petition is a request by an owner, operator, or project sponsor of a waste energy recovery project that the State regulatory authority or nonregulated electric utility determine whether to adopt a standard for the sale of excess power from a waste energy project. Section 374 requires that excess electricity from a waste heat recovery project identified on the Registry be eligible for at least one of the following three options, 1) sale of net excess power to the utility; 2) transport by utility for direct sale to a third party; or 3) transport over private transmission lines.